Floor construction



Oct. 22, 1940. HENDERSON 2,219,043

FLOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed April 12, 1939 :mmuew w 'Efligw Fig.4. .zz

INVENTOR Patented Oct. 22, 1940 UNITED STATES noon cons'rnucnon Albert Henderson, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to William P. Witherow, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application and 12. 1939, Serial No. 201,391

3 Claims. (Cl. 12-) This invention relates to a floor construction and, particularly, to a floor composed of precast membersof concrete or the like which can be manufactured at relatively small expense and 5 erected quickly in the field by unskilled labor.

The construction of floors in fireproof buildings according to present practice is a slow and costly procedure requiring highly skilled workmen. It is an object of this invention to provide a floor 10 construction which can be erected quickly by unskilled labor, thereby reducing the overall cost of the building and the construction time required.

In a preferred form, the floor of my invention includes spaced supporting joists which are preferably precast from concrete or the like. The joists may be supported on the girders of a steel frame building or the principal beams of a reinforced concrete structure. The tread surface of the floor is formed of a plurality of precast slabs of concrete or the like extending between adjacent joists and disposed in side by side relation thereon. The slabs are preferably of channel shape in section and the upper edges of the joists have recesses formed therein to receive the 25 flanges of the slabs which are disposed downwardlv.

A thorough knowledge of the invention and its advantages may be gained from the following detailed description which refers to the accompanying drawing illustrating a preferred embodiment.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a partial perspective view showing a section of a floor embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section through the floor taken parallel to the joists;

Fig. 3 is a partial sectional view taken along the line III-III of Fig. 2;

Fig. 3-0 is a similar view taken along the line Illa-ma of Fig. 2;

0 Fig. 4 is a view in elevation showing the ends of the slabs and the side of a joist; and

Fig. 5 is a partial sectional view taken along the line V-V of Fig. 4.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, the floor 5 of my invention comprises joists l0 suitably spaced apart and supported on the walls or frame of a building (not shown). Slabs ll extend between adjacent joists and are disposed in side by side relation thereon providing a smooth, continuous 50 tread surface. The joists Ill have longitudinal reinforcing bars l2 and I3 embedded therein and have their upper edges recessed as at It for a P p se which will appear shortly. The slabs II are of channel shape in section, each having flanges II and a web I! which forms the tread surface proper, As shown in the drawing, the flanges are disposed downwardly and are received in the recesses It in the upper edges of the joists III. The slab flanges have reinforcing bars I'I embedded therein and a reinforcing mesh i8 extending over substantially the full area of the slabs. The ends of the transverse members of the mesh it are welded to the flange reinforcing bars I'I.

As shown in the drawings, the joints between 10 the joists and slabs are mortared as at It. A longitudinal groove extends along the upper edge of each slab thus providing a key for the mortar whereby transverse movement of the joists under the sis is prevented, thus serving the function of 15 the conventional cross bracing between 7 floor joists.

Each slab I I has a longitudinal groove therein. This may conveniently be provided by a rabbeted edge as illustrated at 2|. The joists H) are provided with tie wires 22 embedded therein and extending upwardly through the bottoms of the recesses It in the form of loops or eyes. The lower ends of the tie wires may conveniently be bent around one of the reinforcing bars in the joists, as shown in the drawing. Thus. when the slabs have been disposed on the joists, the loops 2! extend upwardly between the adjacent ends of slabs disposed in end to end relation, in alinement with the groove provided by the rabbeted edge It. Tie rods or pins 23 may then be placed in the grooves and inserted through the loops 22, to anchor the slabs flrmly to the joists.

After the slabs have been laid and anchored as described, the grooves formed by the rabetted edges' 2| and the spaces between the ends of the slabs are filled with grout and the floor is finished except for the application of a surface covering such as linoleum or the like.

It will be apparent that the invention is characterized by numerous advantages over conventional construction methods. The low cost and the quick erection which are made possible by the invention have already been mentioned. In addition, the flanges of the channel section slabs are effectively keyed to the joists by the recesses in the upper edges thereof so that the separation of the slabs or the opening up of longitudinal seams therebetween on shrinkage thereof is prevented. If any shrinkage occurs, the entire floor area must shrink together, both slabs and joists, since they constitute substantially a unitary or monolithic mass. A further advantage is the fact that the slabs have a T-beam action when loaded. The reinforcing mesh embedded in the slabs, furthermore, provides ample resistance to shearing stress. The slabs and joists are locked transversely of the joists by the longitudinal grooves in the upper edges of the latter. Finally, the slabs are iirmly anchored to the joists in addition to being held down by their own weight.

Thejoistsandslabsmaybemadeinanyconvenient siaes and are preferably designed according to accepted standards, providing ample range of choice for various applications.

Although I have illustrated and described but a preferred embodiment of the invention, changes therein may be made without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims. r

I claim:

i. A floor comprising spaced joists having a substantially plane upper edge with notches therein at intervals ltherealong, and precast,

channel-section slabs disposed side-by-side and extending between adjacent joists, each slab having flanges along the sides only and a web providing atread surface, the flanges being disposed downwardly in said notches, said joists having a longitudinal groove in the plane surface thereof'and also in the bottoms of said notches.

providing a key for mortar between the slabs and joists.

through the joints between the ends of abutting l0 slabs, tie rods disposed in said grooves across said last-mentioned joints, said rods extending through said loops, and a iilling of grout in said grooves and joints.

- 3. A i'ioor comprising spaced joists and precast slabs disposed side by side and extending between adjacent joists, each slab having a recessed edge providing a groove at the joint between adjacent surfaces of abutting slabs, wire loops projecting above the upper. edge of said joists through the joints between abutting slabs, tie rods disposed in said grooves across said last-mentioned joints, said rods extending through said loops, and a filling of grout in said grooves and joints.

ALBERT HENDERSON. 25 

